Pillows or cushions



INV NTOR.

T. D. COLE PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS Filed Aug. 12. 1957 lllllllllllnvu;

June 28, 1960 United vStates PILLows on CUsHloNs Thomas D. Cole, Lockport, assignor to Lockport Mills, Inc., Lockport, N.Y.

` Filed Aug.1z,1957,ser.No.617,626

1 claim. (cis-341) Statesf^`for-sanitary reasonsprohibit exchanging of the Y pillows after they have been used.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a pillow or cushion having an inner member or insert in the [form of an air bag or pneumatic member which is surrounded by the filler material and -which may be lled or inflated to the desired extent to produce either a relatively iirm or a soft pillow. It is also an object to provide within -a pillow an inflated member of this type which is provided with a valve controlled inlet tube, accessible from the exterior of the pillow, whereby the amount of air contained in the inatable member may be varied to suit the user of the pillow. Another object is to provide a pillow of this kind in which the outer end of the air inlet tube is arranged within the covering material of the pillow where it is not likely to be damaged by contact with other objects and where it will not interfere with the normal use of the pillow.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a face view of a pillow embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof approximately on line 2 2, Fig. l.

Fig. 3l is a view of the corner of the pillow at which the outer end of the filler tube terminates.

Fig. 4 is a face view of a pillow of modified construction.

f 2,942,281 Y Patented June' 28, 1960 2 7 may be inilated withmore air than would be used for persons preferring a softer pillow.

Inorder tor make it possible to vary the amount of air within the bag or pneumatic member 7, I preferably provide the bag with a filler tube 8 which is connected at oneend with the inflatable bag. This ller tube extends to aV portion of the cloth covering 5 of the pillow into a position accessiblel from the exterior of the pillow for inating'or deliating the pneumatic bag. For example, in the construction shown the filler tube extends from one corner of the pneumatic bag to the adjacent corner of the pillow and the pillow is provided near the outer V',tendsthrough the lining member and lies in the pocket where it is readilyv `accessible by opening the pocket by means of the zipper or other closure.

---The iniiation` tube 8 isv preferably `provided with a kcheck Valve 12 of any suitable type to prevent escape v--ofpair-,frornthe inside of the pneumatic bag. This check The pillow shown in Figs. 1.-?, is provided with the usual outer cloth covering 5 which is lilled with any usual or suitable ller material 6, which Iis preferably of a fibrous nature and within the middle portion of this iiller and spaced lfrom the covering 5 is provided a exibleable for persons preferring a relatively soft pillow` orY y The diierence in depersons requiring tirmer pillows. gree of firmness of the pillow can readily be controlled vby varying they amount of air admitted into the bag or pneumaticlcushion 7. For persons who prefer a rela-.t

tively pillow, the central pneumatic member or'bag I vlalve is preferably located adjacent to the outer end .of the inflation tube and may be of a construction similar to valves of this type used on pneumatic tires so that the valve may be opened to discharge some of the air from the pneumatic bag or if desired more air can be blown by mouth through the tube 8 into the pneumatic bag.

When the stuffing is of fibrous material it can be in the form of batting which may be wrapped around the pneumatic bag so as to enclose the same entirely in this material. One end or side of the cloth covering of the pillow may be left open so that the pneumatic bag and the material wrapped about it may be inserted as a unit into the covering and the filler tube inserted into the pocket, whereupon the open end or side issewn. When constructed in this manner, there -is always an ample thickness of stuffing material between a person sleeping on the pillow and the bag 7, so that the presence of the pneumatic bag in the pillow is `not objectionable. By wrapping sheets of librous material about the bag, this type of stufiing will hold the bag in the middle portion of the pillow.

My improvement may also be used in connection with pillows stuffed with feathers,V down or other loose material which cannot be wrapped around the pneumatic bag to center the same within the pillow. When this kind of stuffing is employed, I provide suitable flexible means for centering the pneumatic bag in the cloth covering of the pillow. For this purpose, as shown in Fig. 4, I provide spacing members 15 which may be arranged in any suitable manner, for ex-ample, by extending from the corners of the pneumatic bag to the corners of the covering material of the pillow. Consequently, feathers, down or other stuffing material not in sheet form can be placed in the pillow around the faces and edges of the pneumatic bag, and during the use of the pillow, this loose stuing material will remain disposed with fair uniformity in the spaces between the pneumatic bag and the covering material of the pillow.

Heretofore pillow manufacturers found it necessary to make pillows of varying degrees of rmness to satisfy different customers, which necessitated carrying inventories of eachvkind of pillow. The pillow herein described has the advantage that a pillow manufacturer can make these pillows all alike and the degree of rm. f ness mayvthen be controlled by the use of the same thus reducing materially the inventory he is required to maintain. As the stuing of the pillows becomes more eom- Y paeted, the user can readily restore the same to approximately the same rmness which they had when originally purchased.

While l have described my improvements mainly for use with a bed pillow, it will be obvious that my improvements may be equally well used in connection with cushions of various types.

It will be understood that various changes in the Vdetails, materials and arrangements of pants, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art, within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed vin the appended claim.

I claim:

A pillow comprising a single exible unicellular inner pneumatic bag of substantial length and width disposed in a horizontal position, said pneumatic bag having a substantially oval configuration in both longitudinal and transverse vertical cross sectional planes when inated, fibrous ller material surrounding said pneumatic bag completely enclosing all surfaces and edges of the same with a substantial thickness of said iibrous filler material, a cloth covering enclosing said iiller material and pneumatic bag, the external surface of said pneumatic bag being materially spaced from said covering at all points, said ller material substantially filling the space between said pneumatic bag and said cover, and a ilexible tubel communicating at one end with said pneumatic bag and having the other end extending through the ller material to a point adjacent said cloth covering, said cloth covering having Aa readily closable opening disposed over said other end of said tube through which the outer end of the tube is accessible lfor increasing or decreasing the air in said pneumatic cushion, and means on said tube normally preventing the escape of air from said bag, said pillow having a substantially oval congnr-ation in both longitudinal and transverse cross sectional planes, said pneumatic bag and said pillorw being of alined polygonal configuration in a horizontal cross sectional plane and include Ia plurality of exible members holding said bag substantially in the middle of said pillow, said ilexible members including one member disposed at each corner of said pneumatic bag, each member having one end secured to the corresponding corner of said pneumatic bag and the other end secured to the corresponding corner of said cloth covering.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 795,108 Doellinger July 18, 1905 931,361 Weinberg Aug. 17, 1909 1,270,298 Jones June 25, 1918 2,238,035 Char Apr. 15, 1941 2,566,266 Uhle et al. Aug. 28, 1951 2,691,179 Kann Oct. l2, 1954 2,822,554 Wenzclberger Feb. l1, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,113,473 France Dec. 5, 1955 

